Learning Paradise
by RainShadow
Summary: Harry and Draco are exiled to an abandoned island during the heat of the "Final Battle" and are forced to rely on one another while they desperately try to find a way back. 2-9-05 new chapter!
1. Prologue

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Title: Learning Paradise

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Author: RainShadow

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Rating: PG-13, R later

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Part: 1/10

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Warnings: Violence, language, first time, male/male

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Pairing: Harry/Draco

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Beta Reader: Klee

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Summary: Harry and Draco are exiled to an abandoned island during the heat of the "Final Battle" and are forced to rely on one another while they desperately try to find a way back. 

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Disclaimer: Harry Potter & Co. belong to JK Rowling, I am using them for entertainment purposes only and not making any profit by my use of them. Please don't sue, right now all I have $24.45 and it's for thrift store shopping. Yay for outdated clothing!

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Archive: Smeared Silver, ask [rainshadow03@aol.com] if you want it ^_^

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A/N: Any thank yous for reviews will be done every other chapter. Yeah, I know this is short, that's why it's the prologue ^_^

Learning Paradise

~Prologue~

He was bone weary and numb. He knew that if he closed his eyes he'd topple over and sleep, sleep forever, and maybe dream... anything to be out of this nightmare. With a resolve born of years of training and the hope that, one way or another, it would over soon, Harry Potter stumbled down the corridor towards the source and perhaps the end, of his misery. Voldemort was waiting, his eyes aglow with magic and blood lust.

"This is the end, boy," He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named softly hissed. A deadly curse flashed his way, and Harry sent one back and then dodged to the side. He landed on something sharp and felt warm blood leaking through his robes. Dazedly he tried to get to his feet but the world tilted and spun and Harry was on the floor again. Evil laughter~

~

~echoed in his ears.

"Finally," Lucius Malfoy said, a gleam of triumph in his cool gray eyes as he received the latest report. "The battle is nearly over and won! The Dark Lord is calling his servants." The elder Malfoy tossed a handful of floo powder into the fire and beckoned to his son. "Come, Draco, we must join Voldemort in his success." The blonde, younger version of Lucius scowled. 

"Father," he drawled, "you know how I feel about this... issue. I'll not help some demented old fool 'take over the world'".

Lucius' face hardened. "You are my heir and you will do as I say." he commanded quietly.

Draco exploded, "But Father, we are *Malfoys*! We've been around for generations, we're one of the oldest Wizarding families in the world and you want to squander our reputation on some fool power play! He's not fit to shine our shoes, let alone tell us what to do." Draco finished his rant and noticed that his father was pointing his wand~

~

~directly at him. The Dark Lord was standing above him, power radiating from his imposing form.

"The Killing Curse is too quick and painless for you, my boy. I believe I'll introduce you to a most delightful spell-- permanent exile. You will *never* know the outcome of this battle nor the fate of your friends. And it will drive you mad." He smiled evilly. "Yes, that is the perfect~

~

~spell to teach you some appreciation; I've made you *too* proud, Draco," his father said regretfully~

~

__

~wands raised, voices rough with anger and malevolence, speak the very same spell at the very same time. "Exilies!" An identical flash of yellow light in front of two pairs of eyes, green and gray. A final scream emerges from his throat as, for a moment, he is one *and* two, colored chaos of betrayal and pain-- and yet the joining is blissful and brings peace-- he is ripped from himself, torn in half, and thrown into space. He lands somewhere quiet before losing his grip on consciousness. And so his mind sleeps~


	2. Chapter One

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Title: Learning Paradise

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Author: RainShadow

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Rating: PG-13, R later

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Part: 2/10

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Beta Reader: Klee

Learning Paradise

~Chapter One~

It was hot. His cheek was resting on something gritty. He moved his mouth and grimaced. Sand. A warm breeze blew over him and he could smell dirt, and salt water _//The ocean?//_, and exotic flowers. The light was bright behind his eyelids. Very cautiously, Draco Malfoy opened his eyes. _//That would be the sun//_ He squinted and craned his head to look around. Beach and blue ocean laid endless in front of him. He sat up and froze in pain. His skin was on fire! He glanced swiftly down, positive he was about to see flames consuming his body, but of course there weren't. Draco moaned in pain; he had tremendously awful sunburn and his skin was one massive, burnt nerve. Desperately he crawled into the blessed shade of a nearby tree and collapsed, his body overloading and shutting down in the face of too much agony.

~

Harry Potter groaned and rolled over onto his back. He gingerly opened his eyes and sat up. The world was terribly out of focus. He felt on the ground next to him _//dirt?//_ and found his glasses. Shoving them on his face, he blinked as everything became much clearer and much, much worse. He was at the edge of a forest, but not the one near Hogwarts, because a few yards away he could see the beginning of a beach. He stood and hobbled past an outcropping of rock that blocked his view, and his worst fears were confirmed. Nothing but water, the deep blue-green of the ocean, extended past the small bit of land. Harry swallowed at the sight of all that water and realized how thirsty he was. He turned and went back to where he had woken up and looked desperately around for some sign of *where* he was or, more importantly, how he could get back. He checked the pockets of his ragged robe in hopes of finding his wand, but no, it was gone. He shut his eyes as he remembered those last, final moments between himself and Voldemort. What had happened to his friends? Had they won? Or worse, were they... hurt? Dead, even? Did anyone know what had happened to him? And the vital information from Sirius, that could change the tide of the war if he had gotten it to Dumbledore, how now was the wizard supposed to know?

"Crap." Harry muttered. "Crap crap crap."

After a while, he decided it was rather pointless just to stand around waiting, better to go look for food and water and the like. He looked around, saw the outcropping of rock he had passed earlier, and took a closer look. He noticed a nice-sized overhang and cautiously entered the cool, dark hole. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim light and was pleased with what he had found. The floor was covered in soft sand and a few rays of light poked through gaps in the low ceiling. Harry could stand, but just barely, and for once he was grateful for his relatively short height.

He peeled off his robes, the dried blood sticking to his skin, and left it in a heap in the middle of the cave. He squared his shoulders and looked outside. Time to explore the forest.

~

One all-prevailing thought ruled his mind. Water. _//waterwaterwater//_ He gripped the tree and hauled himself upright, his skin stretching painfully and protesting the movement of every muscle. Draco swayed dizzily and took a few steps forward. He tripped and landed in some sort of spiky plant. He took a deep breath and tried to call for help. His tongue was fat and slow in his mouth, and only a hoarse cough emerged. He laid his head down, not even caring that sand was getting into his hair, and closed his eyes. And waited... for something.

~

Harry followed the sound of running water hopefully, and gleefully stumbled into a small stream. He plunged his head in and threw it back, laughing. Water dripped from his ears and hair, soaking his shirt. He wiped his glasses off, then cupped his hands and brought the precious liquid to his lips and drank deeply. He removed his socks and shoes and splashed down the stream, until he came to a small, quiet pool surrounded by large trees with branches thick with leaves. 

Harry sat on the bank, watching the small ripples in the pool each time a leaf fell from a tree and dropped into the water. He had found this stream, and it had seemed a huge accomplishment, but it paled in comparison when he thought about his friends, the battle, whether Remus had found out where Sirius was hiding. _//Home//_ These things were so very important, and yet here he was, sitting beside a pool doing *nothing* to help! Harry's hands groped the earth beside him and came in contact with a small object. He threw the rock into the pool with all his strength, watching in frustration as it skimmed twice and then sank slowly to the bottom. 

He scrambled to his feet, trying to find something that would distract him from his troublesome musings. His stomach growled. Oh yes, food would be good.

To his surprise, Harry found that the forest was rich with edible food. There were blackberries, walnuts, hazelnuts, grapes, and even a few peach trees. He had ripped up his robe into small squares and fashioned the squares into small sacks, using another strip of cloth to secure them. These he had filled with the nuts and peaches. He deposited these in his cave, and then went for a drink. (He had yet to invent a way to carry water around.) 

Now, as the sun headed westward, he was looking for soft materials to sleep on. His search carried him down the river, to the beach, and he looked around in awe as the red sun dipped slowly into the sea. He turned, and nearly stumbled into a palm tree. Nearby, something rustled, and Harry nearly dropped his armful of soft leaves. A moan emerged from behind a large bush, and Harry gathered his resolve and went to have a look.

~

His eyes blinked open at some sound. Someone -or something- had walked past him. Draco decided he would have to take the risk of the thing being unfriendly. He needed help, and so he tried to speak.

Suddenly, the light of the setting sun was blocked as a figure leaned over him. Draco squinted upward.

"Malfoy?!" a suspiciously familiar voice said in astonishment. No. It couldn't be...

"Potter?"


	3. Chapter Two

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Title: Learning Paradise

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Author: RainShadow

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Rating: PG-13, R later

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Part: 3/10

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Beta Reader: Klee (she's on vacation, so she only read 'bout half of it -_- poor me)

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A/N: Thank yous at the end ^_^

Learning Paradise

~Chapter Two~

The Dark Lord was weakened, and Ronald Weasley advanced on him with vengeful fury. "Where's Harry, you bastard?!" he screamed, too angry to be frightened, shooting a curse at You-Know-Who.

"If you destroy me, you destroy the only key to Potter," The Dark Lord knew he was cornered, but he was taking that damned Mudblood's child with him. Then, for the first time, there was fear in You-Know-Who's twisted face, as Ron felt a hand rest gently on his shoulder. "Dumbledore," he snarled, "Not even you will find him!"

"Together then, Ron?" the old wizard whispered in his ear, and Ron grimly nodded. Beside them Hermione stood, her hair wild and her eyes blazing, and the three of them banished Voldemort and all that remained was a green puff of smoke, and then, not even that.

Ron dropped his wand as if it scalded him. Instantly Hermione was in his arms, holding him, hugging him.

"Not all is lost," Dumbledore said kindly.

"But you heard what he said-!"

"Ah, but we found his wand, whole and well," and Dumbledore produced Harry's wand with a flourish. "We also have Voldemort's wand, which we can use to see what kinds of spells he cast. We may yet find Harry."

~

Everything was a haze of red pain as Harry Potter supported his skinny frame, and that just added to the absurdness of the situation. He mumbled something over and over like a prayer and he wasn't even aware that he was speaking until again this voice invaded his pain-daze.

"Water? C'mon, you can make it, right over here..." and then sweet bliss as smooth, forgiving liquid opened up and engulfed his hurting body. He swallowed great gulps of it, blessed, blessed water. Abruptly his body was hauled up, and there came an appalled exclamation from Potter.

"Shit, Malfoy, you're sunburned all to hell!" Draco was shivering horribly now, and he weakly tried to pull away from Potter's grasp and get back into the water. Then the temperature change and sunstroke got to him and he went limp in Harry's arms. 

Harry stared down at the lobster-red teenager, dumbfounded. Why was Draco Malfoy *here*? _//Well, he's not going to answer any questions now,// _Harry picked the unconscious Slytherin up, who thankfully was quite light. He trudged back to the cave, trying not to further injure his wounded leg and hoping against hope that Malfoy was some loophole to the limbo he was stuck in.

~

"An _exilies_ spell," Albus Dumbledore sighed, and Hermione gasped.

"What? What's that?" Ron said.

Sirius Black groaned and covered his face in his hands. "I shouldn't have sent him, he's much too young, I'll never forgive myself..."

"What is it?!" Ron shouted.

"It's a spell... Harry's been exiled to another plain of existence."

"Well, let's get him back here then, shall we?"

"I fear it's not that easy, Ronald. You see, only the caster of the spell can undo it."

"Oh Harry-"

"My best friend is stuck on another plain of existence and *we can't get him back?!*"

~

Something cool and wet was on his forehead, easing the pounding heat in his skull. Draco cracked an eye open.

"Damn." he croaked, and Harry, who had been kneeling next to him, jumped. "You weren't a dream."

"Nice to see you, too, Malfoy," Harry said coldly. He pulled the soaked rags from his robes off of Malfoy and left them in a soggy heap.

"What the hell is going on-" Draco started to sit up, when a warm hand pressed on his chest, firmly pushing him down. Draco glared at the green-eyed teenager.

"No way, you're way too sick to get up."

"Since when do you care about my well-being?!" Draco snarled. Harry fell silent. "Anyway, I have to take a piss."

"Whatever." Harry dismissed.

Draco smirked, then got up quickly, too quickly, banging his head on the low stone ceiling. "Shit!" he yelled, slinking down and clutching his head.

Harry looked up, amusement dancing like fireflies in his eyes. "Guess you're too tall." he observed cheerfully.

"And you're not?" he responded icily.

Harry stood to his full height, his unruly hair merely brushing the roof. Draco scowled balefully at him, and Harry smirked at him, both of them forgetting in an instant the present situation as the slipped into the comfortable _//familiar?//_ action of bickering with each other.

"Nope." Draco frowned, and Harry laughed. Then stopped. For one brief moment, their eyes met in confusion, then Harry sat down, a guarded look on his face. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Cat got your tongue, Potter?"

"Go pee or whatever." Harry waved a hand at the entrance. 

Draco closed his eyes as a brief spell of dizziness passed over him, then he tottered outside. It was dim, the sun had gone down, and chilly already. Draco did his business fast and stumbled back inside. His head was killing him, and the swelling, egg-sized bump sure wasn't helping. He rubbed his temples. 

"Where the hell are we, anyway?" he finally voiced the question that had been burning in his mind the whole time.

"Dunno." Was Harry's quiet response.

"You don't know? You, perfect Potter?" Draco said in disbelief.

Harry bristled. "Screw you! I'm not perfect, and I got here because *He* sent me here!"

Draco's eyes widened. "Oh." For once he didn't have a smart comeback.

"Yeah. So how did *you* get here?"

Now Draco was uncomfortable. "Just, my father..." he mumbled.

"Your *father*?!" Harry said incredulously.

"I don't want to talk about it, especially not with you!" he snapped.

"Fair enough." Harry rummaged around in the little bags he'd created. "Here," he said, tossing a peach to Draco.

"Thanks," he said automatically, and then blinked. He'd just thanked... He glanced swiftly at Potter, who hadn't seemed to notice. He bit into the peach, lost in thought. It tasted good, warm and juicy. But when it hit his stomach...

"Oh *crap*" he moaned, hurtling out of the cave. He fell onto his knees and vomited into the dirt. "Yuck," he said faintly. He rose unsteadily to his feet, and to his shock, Potter was there, gripping his arm gently. "Christ!" he yelped in surprise. Harry merely shook his head and guided him to the stream. In a daze, Draco washed his mouth, and then the two stumbled in the darkness back to the cave. 

Draco watched as Harry heaped some ferns together, then laid the remains of his robes over it. He glanced up, and Draco looked at him, confusion in his stormy gray eyes. Harry jerked his head at the bed he had made. "Go on," 

Well, he wasn't about to pass up this for a bed of rock. He collapsed onto the heap, and fell asleep almost immediately, his fevered brain swimming in confusion.

~

TBC soon.

Thank you's go to: **Avalon Princess** (I will email you, no problem ^_^), **Schulyr **(I hope it lives up to its potential), **Maddy**, **o0opryalishao0o**, **Shila** (I'm glad you liked the style-- I did too!), **internalscream**, **Aiera**, **Hana-chan** (I know, sunburns suck, ne?), **Melanie**, and **Intangible Lollipop **(haven't I seen you somewhere before? Your name is really familiar...)

See, *they* reviewed! Don't *you* want a nice thank-you, too? Review! ^_^

One more thing, no, two more things. #1. The next part is about halfway written, it should be up um... dunno. soon. school starts on the 5th so.... :( #2. *whistles innocently* fans of "My Fire My Love" might want to check out my site for a sneak peek of something... here, copy and paste this... [smearedsilver.8m.com/mfml10.html] don't you love me? I know.

~RainShadow


	4. Chapter Three

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Title: Learning Paradise

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Author: RainShadow

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Rating: PG-13, R later

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Part: 4/10

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Beta Reader: Unbeta'd ^^;

Learning Paradise

~Chapter Three~

That night it seemed as if some magical, frozen creature had breathed icy wind across the island. Harry shivered and curled up into a ball, rather sorry he had not kept more plant fluff for himself. He slipped in and out of wakefulness.

Malfoy was trembling in his sleep as well, but suddenly he sat up and scrambled to get outside. He made it to the entrance before his stomach heaved. Harry was awake and beside him in an instant. Draco rose, his face pale in the dim light. Harry stepped back, trying to process how he'd gotten where he was. Malfoy looked at Harry and shook his head groggily.

"Why the hell do you care about me, anyway?" he mumbled crossly.

"I don't!" he protested. "I'm just doing what any person with an ounce of compassion would do."

"Good Lord." Draco closed his eyes. "Forgive me for not having a great comeback as I'm rather ill. If you give me til tomorrow I'm sure I'll be able to come up with an appropriately caustic one." Harry sighed and gently closed a hand around Malfoy's wrist. Draco couldn't help but notice how icy his fingers were. His body was already shaking from the cold again as he recovered from his bout of sickness.

Harry pulled his robes off of him. "What're you doing?" he exclaimed.

"Lie down," Harry instructed. Grumbling, he curled up onto his bed-nest, and Harry spread his robes over him like a blanket. "You need liquids." he said authoritatively. "Tomorrow I'll go explore and see if I can find something to hold water." Draco barely heard him. He was *cold*. Harry turned to go.

"Potter, wait... I need-" he reached out timidly. Harry hesitated, then felt a chill wind blow over him. That decided it. He lay down on the pile of fluff, pulling the robes over himself. He wrapped his arms around Malfoy's shivering form. "'s freezing," Draco mumbled, closing his eyes and pretending that it wasn't Potter who was lying next to him. Combined body heat soon warmed them, and both drifted off into a warmer, if not exactly comfortable, sleep.

~

Ron rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Let me get this straight. I can talk to Harry?"

"Yes, dear, I believe we've already established that," Hermione said patiently.

"And this is because-"

"You destroyed the caster of the spell, or rather, your wand cast the spell that destroyed the caster of the spell. So your wand has become a weak link, but a link nonetheless, to Harry." Dumbledore explained.

"That's right, so you can talk to Harry. But we think it can only be done once..."

"...What do I say?"

"Find out if he's okay, and if possible, where he is. Tell him we're trying to get him back, and ask him to look around, sometimes other victims have been exiled to the same place."

Ron nodded. "Okay. When are we doing this?"

The potion needed to coat your wand won't be finished until tomorrow. There is nothing more to be done tonight. Go to bed, you two." The Headmaster ordered. Ron and Hermione exchanged weary glances, then got up.

"Thank you, sir."

"Good night."

__

~

Harry yawned and slowly opened his eyes, smelling the morning and something else he couldn't quite place- cologne? And then he felt his heat-provider next to him mumble something and everything came back to him, Voldemort, the island, Malfoy...

-whose arm was currently draped around his waist-

Slowly Harry removed himself from the tangle of leaves mistakenly called a bed and got slowly to his feet. His right thigh still ached, but not with the fire of the day before that he had steadily worked to ignore. This, at least, was more like a continuous dull pain. He stretched carefully and looked around for something to do. He had to do something productive or else he'd start thinking about- ah! Exploring, yes, that was a good idea.

He debated for a moment waking Malfoy up and telling him where he was going, but then decided against it. Malfoy had rolled over onto Harry's former spot and was sprawled on his back, snoring gently, and Harry couldn't help but smile. If ever there was a different side to a person... and so he left the cave with the smile still in place.

~

Hermione looked up from her cauldron at Ron, who was staring off into space, a troubled frown spilling across his freckled face.

"Are you ready?" she asked, setting down the wooden spoon and moving to stand next to him. He inhaled deeply.

"As ready as I'll ever be." he said tonelessly.

"Okay." she said. She reached over and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and he turned into her, pressing his face into the comforting heat of her neck. His breath was heavy on her skin. "Oh Ron..."

His voice muffled and strained, he cried, "What am I supposed to say the last time I see my best friend?!"

~

He stumbled over a tree root and when he looked up he gasped and reached up to touch his glasses to reassure himself that there were still in place. They were; and he was looking at a smallish, ramshackle hut that was leaning precariously to one side. One wall of it had fallen and the contents of the hut spilled out onto the forest floor. Harry shivered and walked closer, trying not to make comparison to the hut and the decaying body of some monstrous animal. So this island had been inhabited. The question was, what had happened to the hut's occupant? It was clear the hut had been abandoned for a long time, because the undergrowth had sprouted up inside of it. Fighting the urge to flee, Harry examined the rubble. His gaze alighted on a carved wooden bowl and with a small mental "aha!" he plucked it out of the weeds. Glancing around, he decided that it was time to go- no need to stay in this broken place alone any longer. Promising himself he'd come back, only next time with company, he hurried away.

He'd been walking for a while and the only sound that could be heard was the leaves and pine needles that crunched under his feet as Harry trudged through the thick undergrowth. After a while, he came upon a still pond. A film of green algae covered it, and Harry sat down next to it for a while, watching his pea-green image stare back at him. Anything to keep from thinking...

Suddenly, in front of him, hovering over the pond, a yellowish light appeared. Harry scooted backward in alarm, ears straining at the crackling sound that was emanating from the light- and then he jumped up, for he had heard Ron's voice!

"Ron!" he shouted joyfully, splashing into the stagnate water, trying to reach the light only to realize he had gone right through it. He turned around.

"Harry?" he was saying. "Harry! Can you hear me?"

"Yes Ron," he called, "I' m here."

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he said, noting the distracted tone of his friend's voice. "Is everything okay? Where's Hermione? Did Sirius- is Voldemort-?"

"I'm here, too, Harry," Hermione's voice floated out of the light as if she were very far away.

"Voldemort's gone, Harry." Ron stated.

Harry let out a whoop that sent birds flapping into the air and echoed through the forest. He noticed that Ron had finally dropped the "You-Know-Who" nonsense. "That's fantastic!" he cried.

"There's a downside to it, Harry." Ron braced himself. "We can't bring you back."

Silence. Harry rocked backwards, stunned.

"But that doesn't mean we're giving up hope!" Hermione shouted.

"Oh, right, Dumbledore says to look for other people, they sometimes get exiled to the same place." Ron added.

"And I'm looking up information night and day." Hermione promised.

Harry found his voice. "I found an empty hut. And Malfoy's here, too." he stated quietly.

"Malfoy?" Both of their voices chorused, and then there was a pause. The light began to crackle. "Harry!" Ron shouted. "Stay with Malfoy! He may be your only way home!" And then there was a bright flash of light, and Harry was left alone again. Stunned, he made his way back to the cave automatically. He was finally snapped out of his daze when, looking around the cave, he noticed that Malfoy was nowhere to be seen.

~

TBC very soon, in fact I nearly have most of the next chapter written. All reviews will be answered at the end of the next chapter. by the way, chapter 10 of "My Fire, My Love" has been added, if you've ever read that (I know, it's been like 6 months since I updated) and I have two new little ficlets, "Bedroom Eyes" and "Electric Storms" of which I am quite proud. Read them? And please don't forget to review! ^_^

~RainShadow


	5. Chapter Four

**Title**: Learning Paradise

**Autho**r: RainShadow

**Rating:** PG-13, R later

**Part**: 5/10

**Beta Reader**: Unbeta'd ;

**A/N**: Ack, been sooo long since this was updated. Thank you to my patient readers, and don't worry, you'll never have to wait this long again. Enjoy!

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**Learning ****Paradise**

**Chapter Four**

"I'm right here," said a voice behind him, and Harry twisted around. His lost companion was standing before him, a pile of loose leaves in his arms.

"You're looking better," Harry remarked without thinking. Draco sniffed and brushed past him. He added the foliage to a growing pile.

"Right then," said Harry, not at all surprised at the Slytherin's rudeness... but he was a little sensitive due to the fact that he might never get home again. He tossed, or more like flung, the bowl at Malfoy. Unfortunately it didn't hit him; with Seeker reflexes Draco caught the bowl and inspected it, long fingers caressing the wood grain. "For water," Harry offered, before crouching down next to the small sacks of food and rummaging through them.

"Where did you get this?" Draco demanded, but Harry ignored him. A small, displeased scowl on his features, the blonde stomped out, presumably to the stream.

Harry sighed and shivered in the growing cold. He gathered several sticks from his "bed" and squatted in the center of the room. Using two of the larger sticks, he began to rub them together fiercely, like he'd seen once on a Muggle tv show. He hadn't been at it long (but his arms were already aching), when he heard Malfoy's footsteps behind him.

Malfoy snickered. "What are you doing, Potter?" he asked, sounding amused.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Harry snapped, his temper flaring.

"Trying to build a fire and failing miserably."

"Well if you've got a-" Harry gasped as suddenly flames shot into the wood, creating a blaze in front of him. "You've got your wand!" he accused.

Malfoy smirked. "Looks like it." Harry added more wood to the fire and tried not to sulk. He sat down next to it, warming his hands. Malfoy sat across from him and Harry suddenly wondered what would happen if he told Malfoy that Voldemort was gone. He shook his head. It was best not to be confrontational.

The silence between them stretched and grew uncomfortable. "So where did you find this?" Draco finally asked.

Harry sighed. "There's a hut, in the forest. We're going back tomorrow."

"We?"

"Yes." Harry looked up from the fire at Malfoy. For a moment he couldn't see anything, but then Malfoy's face swam into view and he could just see the raise of one arched eyebrow.

"I don't think so."

"I do."

"Just because you saved my life, don't think that means I'm going to obey your every whim."

"Fine." Harry snarled, trying to keep his cool- and losing it. "Will you please come with me tomorrow?"

"No."

"Damn it- you are such a bastard, Malfoy!" he yelled, getting into it now.

"What did you expect, Potter?" Draco countered hotly.

"I did rescue you-"

"I didn't ask you to! Why did you help me anyways!"

That stumped Harry. He looked at the Slytherin quizzically. "Because you needed it." he said quietly. Malfoy snorted. "You would've done the same."

"No, I wouldn't have."

"Yes you would." Harry insisted. "You would have bitched about it and made me your slave for life or something, but you're not that indecent Malfoy, no matter what you say."

Uneasy about what was very nearly the truth, Draco muttered, "Oh, thanks. Typical Gryffindor belief in basic decency."

Maybe it was because he'd never really had a conversation that lasted more than a minute before, but Harry was now beginning to see past the Slytherin's icy exterior.

Part of him was touched by Potter's belief in him, so when Harry again asked if he'd come tomorrow, Draco agreed.

It grew dark and Draco lay down on his pile of leaves, hissing as they scratched his sensitive skin. Two feet away from him, Harry lay on his own bed, head propped up on one hand, watching Draco with unreadable green eyes.

"What?" he asked, too tired to sound sullen.

"Mm. I just... want to go home."

"I don't." Draco said softly.

"Why not?" Draco didn't answer. Harry bit his lip but said no more. He found that the more he talked with Malfoy, the more he wanted to know him. Draco Malfoy was a mystery now, he had depth, and Harry found himself wishing that the blonde would talk so that he could listen and simply soak up the essence of the boy he had once despised, but was now unmistakably drawn to. _That's just brilliant, Harry, you want to get inside a Death Eater._ Harry winced at the innuendo he'd unwittingly thought. _Not going to go there, so not going to go there._ The fact remained that Malfoy, like his father, was a Death Eater, and Harry couldn't possibly get close to him. _Even though Voldemort's gone?_ Harry rolled over. _Shut up._ he told himself. _Sleep._ He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he almost didn't hear it-

"Good night, Potter. Have lovely nightmares." Draco drawled.

"Good night, Malfoy, hope the bedbugs do bite."

"What?" Malfoy asked, confused. _Bedbugs? Ew!_ Harry just laughed. He closed his eyes and tried to get warmed up by the fire, but the cold still permeated the cave. He tried not to think of the night before, of the unexpected warmth contained in Malfoy's skin-

Leaves rustled and were suddenly shoved next to him, and Malfoy was again a heat at his side, and Harry automatically wrapped his arms around his waist, feeling Malfoy's hands warm on his back. His head was nestled under Harry's chin, his fine hair brushing against Harry's face.

"Ah.." Draco groaned softly in pain when Harry shifted and accidentally rubbed his skin.

"Sorry," Harry whispered.

There was a pause. "I know." said Draco.

Warm and therefore content, Harry pushed all of the questions out his mind and closed his eyes. "For being the Ice Prince you sure get cold easily." he remarked in tired amusement.

"Mmhmm." Malfoy responded drowsily, and Harry yawned, and fell asleep.

"Good grief," Hermione said, cradling her head in her hands. "Malfoy's there, too? What kind of joke is this?"

The other people around the table looked at each other. "There must be a reason. Was Draco exiled at exactly the same time? If so…"

"If so… if we bring Malfoy back, can we bring Harry back, too?" asked Ron.

"It's possible!" Hermione said excitedly. "I'll go do some research right now!"

"No way, Hermione," Sirius said. "You need to get some rest. You and Ron have done a lot of work just to contact Harry. Let us do something now."

Reluctantly, Hermione nodded, and she and Ron left the conference room and headed back towards their chamber.

"Do you think that was a convenient way of telling us to butt out for a bit?" he asked her.

Hermione sighed. "No, I don't think so. After all we've been through, I doubt they'd try to exclude us from anything on the basis of our age."

Ron nodded. "Good." They reached the entrance to their room. Ron said the password and they entered. Both let out deep breaths they didn't realize they'd been holding in.

"Ron…are you okay?" Hermione asked, tentatively touching his back. Ron leaned back into her touch, so she began to knead his shoulders.

"I…god. No, not really." he laughed slightly. He pulled Hermione around onto his lap, hugging her tightly. Hermione couldn't help it; silent tears streamed from her eyes. They sat there a while, Hermione fiddling with her engagement ring. Finally Ron got up and carried them to bed, where they curled round each other until they fell asleep.

"Which way is it?"

"Er…this direction, I think."

"You mean you don't remember? Smart, Potter, smart."

"Shut up."

"…"

"Thank God."

"Oh, fuck off."

"No thanks, go ahead."

"_Honestly,_ Malfoy."

"More like dishonestly."

"No kidding."

Harry peered around, then recognized the pond from yesterday. "I recognize this," he said. "We're going the right way." For a brief moment Harry felt a stab of guilt. Should he tell Malfoy about the message he'd received from Ron? "Hey, Malfoy…"

Draco turned around and smiled at Harry. "What?"

Harry's eyes got very large. "You…you…"

Draco clamped a hand over his mouth.

"You smiled! You didn't smirk, or pout, you…"

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," Draco said crossly.

Harry stared at him a moment longer, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Oh, _shut up_, Potter!"

Harry smirked and walked ahead, until Malfoy stepped on the back of his shoes.

"Very mature, Malfoy."

"Thanks, I try."

They walked the rest of the way in silence. Harry spotted the hut and pointed. Malfoy followed him through a stand of trees until they were both standing in front of it. Harry remembered his first impression of the hut yesterday and wondered what Malfoy was thinking.

Just then, Malfoy rubbed his hands together. "Ah ha! Time to do what Malfoys do best—pillage!" With that, he began to go through the contents of the hut with seemingly no apprehension whatsoever. Harry sighed, and joined him.


End file.
